Bill Would Make it a Crime to Flee Unmarked Police Vehicles

Bill Would Make it a Crime to Flee Unmarked Police Vehicles

<br>Sen. Chris Shank's bill would clarify as long as an unmarked car has lights and sirens on, a person must pull over.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Some police departments are calling it a loophole in the
law by allowing people to lawfully flee and elude an unmarked police car.

"Ultimately, the statue is
unclear as to whether someone has to stop for an unmarked vehicle and whether
someone can be charged with fleeing and eluding," says Sen. Chris Shank,
(R) - WashingtonCounty.

Shank's bill would clarify as long
as an unmarked car has lights and sirens on, a person must pull over. It also
allows police to file charges, but that's not all the bill does.

"It also provides a measure of
constituent protection and says in law for the first time that if somebody
feels uncomfortable with an unmarked car that they they're being chased by that
they have the right to pull over at a police station or a well-lit area,"
Shank says.

Those at the Frederick City Police
Department say they've had a few incidents in the past of people not stopping
for officers in unmarked cars. They feel the bill could help them keep the
streets of Frederick safer.

"I believe the bill is going
to assist with closing the gap that's occurring in the law right now by not
allowing somebody to flee and elude from an unmarked car," says Cpt.
Patrick Grossman, with the Frederick City Police Department.

Grossman says officers in unmarked
cars often have to call marked cars in for back up.

"You're not readily
identifiable, so at times people would not see us right away when we initiate a
traffic stop or hear the audible signal and think it's coming from a different
direction," Grossman says.

In 2011, the Maryland Court of
Special Appeals ruled a driver could not be charged for fleeing a law
enforcement officer in an unmarked car.

"Police chases are very
inherently dangerous to the public, and you want to make sure that the statue
reflects the fact that it is treated seriously," Shank says.

Shank's bill passed unanimously in
the Maryland Senate and now heads to the Maryland House of Delegates.